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Receivers called in on UK’s first sustainable resi tower 

A 16-storey residential tower in Hemel Hempstead has been put up for sale by receivers after the debt held against it was called in by its bridge lender. 

Lumiere Acquisitions – part of the Lumiere Group – was intending to develop 272 flats at The Beacon at Hemel Hempstead in what would be the UK’s first zero-emission residential building. 

Kimberly Peer Ventures One, which has directors in common with Deekay Management, was the bridge lender on the scheme and held the charge against it. It appointed David Christian Chubb and Zeif Hussain at PwC as fixed-charge receivers in June 2018. 

Repayment terms were not breached, but the loan came to maturity without being repaid or refinanced. When the loan expired in February, Colliers International was appointed by the borrower for a £12m sale before receivers were appointed in June.

£8.5m asking price

The planned tower is being sold though Allsop for in excess of £8.5m. 

It was being developed as a prototype for a zero-energy, zero-emissions building, on which Lumiere spent three years finessing the design and approach.  

It was intended to be part of a much larger strategy to create a property energy technology company, and the intellectual property and technology will be used on other sites. According to its website, it intended to ultimately list the company.

While it had received offers of development and mezzanine funding, it used bridge lending rather than equity or more traditional loans.

Twenty flats have been reserved at the scheme, at £647 per sq ft, which would give an end value of £117m, though it has a RICS Red Book valuation of £93m and a build-out cost of £43m.

Separate entity

Kimberley Peer Ventures One is listed as a separate entity with separate shareholders, but its three directors are directors of Deekay Management. 

Deekay’s website says it has more than 45 years of property experience, is responsible for a portfolio of over £500m, and that it welcomes “institutional and high-net-worth investors as well as employee benefit and family trusts to co-venture into our meticulously vetted investment opportunities”.

In 2015 it began supplying bridging loans to property companies and has since lent more than £90m in total.

The Hemel Hempstead tower is the second Lumiere asset to be put up for sale through receivers by a company affiliated with Deekay Management. 

In December 2017, Moors Properties – another company linked to Lumiere – had receivers appointed by Kimberly Rickmansworth, a separate entity affiliated with Deekay Management. 

The charge on the business was secured against Unit 3 in the Wolsley Business Park, Tolpits Lane in Watford, a site where Lumiere planned to demolish two office buildings and replace them with 643 flats. 

Planning rejected

However, after planning was rejected by Three Rivers District Council in August 2017, Unit 3 was sold through auction by Allsop for £8m, with prior approval for permitted development of 71 residential units. Terms of the loan were breached, leading to receivers being appointed. 

The bridge lender in the Watford sale was paid in full from the proceeds. 

All parties declined to comment. 

To send feedback, e-mail alex.peace@egi.co.uk or tweet @egalexpeace or @estatesgazette

A version of this article appeared in the 21 July 2018 print edition of EG with the headline “Resi Beacon enters receivership”

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